Two Loaves
by shinelikegold
Summary: Just what was going through Peeta Mellark's mind when the Bread incident occurred with a starving Katniss Everdeen? In Peeta's POV.


**Two Loaves**

Rain. Only added to the cheerless feel in District 12. Some days, It could feel quite happy here, and most days it could be the most isolating and agonising place to be on earth. It's not like we can do anything about it, we can't go anywhere. The beautiful view of the meadow and the woods from my window in my bedroom wasn't particularly appealing on a day like this, it just seemed to stretch miles away from the bakery, making me feel so distanced from the world.

I slide miserably off my window sill, and make my way to my door. The pleasant smell of bread fills my nose as I swing the door open, and I trudge across the hall to my brother Ren's room. Not a surprising sight to see him asleep, since he had been working from the moment the shop opened at 6 this morning, it was late afternoon now. Ren's always the last person to bed. He spends most of his time writing, my brother. It's his greatest passion, so it's not a shock that he's always worn out when he has to get up in the morning with a maximum of about 4 hours sleep. I creep out of the room and make my way down stairs.

The bakery isn't busy at late afternoon, since everyone is usually preparing dinner for their families, but a few people come in for last minute trade. My other brother, Jonny and my father were in their usual places at the ovens. I tie an apron tightly around my body and slip in the empty space beside Jonny. It was silence as usual, anything was better than the usual echoing of shouts down our ears.  
"Where's Mother?" I ask Jonny, who stares blankly at a batch of bread in his hands. He isn't usually as quiet, in fact he usually is the person that cracks a smile out of my father, Ren and me.  
"Went out back to feed the bread to the pigs." He says croakily.  
I didn't need to ask anything else. It was clear that he made a 'wrong batch' which always resulted in a smack on the head with a rolling pin. I tilt my head to look at him, and sure enough a purple and red mark was visible against his pale forehead.  
"Maybe you can get new ideas for colours in your art work from the stages of this injury." he muttered, a small smile curved on his cheeks. He was by far the strongest of my two brothers, he was the one to most likely take a beating anyway. I smile at him and take out a batch of bread and place it carefully on the counter. A sudden crash breaks the silence, and I immediately turn to my father. He stares outside the back window and I hear my mother begin to yell, and he turns to me.  
"It's that little Katniss girl, she's had a look through our bin."  
That was enough information to send me running towards the back door. I swung open the back door and made my way into the downpour of rain, the icy wind biting my skin. I could see my mother waving her arms around frantically, her face pulled in a disgusted expression, as if she was shooing away a stray cat. I crane my neck over her broad shoulder, and catch sight of a black braid bounce off the back of a large coat. She staggers off towards a lone tree beside the bakery, and slips to the ground. My mothers hands shove me back inside, as the sudden warmth of the bakery embraces me, I hurry to the window. I watch as Katniss clung hopelessly onto the tree. I felt a pang of so many emotions at once fill inside me, and the conversation with my father comes to my head.

_"See that little girl, I wanted to marry her mother but she ran off with a coal miner." My father says, his hand clamped onto my shoulder._  
_"A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?" I ask, amazed._  
_ "Because, when he sings... even the birds stop to listen, Peeta," He said, a jealous expression his face. "I wonder if she can sing the same as him."_

She could.  
She had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard, It was like listening to angels. She definitely inherited that from him, because even she made the birds stop to listen. I experienced that on my first day at school.

Without hesitating, I made my way to the ovens. My mother was stood at the counter, just mere metres away from me. This was a guaranteed beating, but with Katniss Everdeen's extremely stunning voice diminishing everything around me, I tip the two hearty loaves nearest me into the fire. Almost instantly, my mother squeals at me. The beauty of Katniss' voice is drowned in a sea of unbearable agony as my face is struck by the rolling pin in my mothers hand. I fall to the ground at her feet.  
"Take those loaves outside and feed them to the pigs, no-one will want these now!" My mother hisses at me, kicks me hard in my side and stomps off upstairs.  
I collect the two loaves and head back outside, tearing off the cremated parts. I quickly shoot a glance at Katniss, and feel my body radiate heat even in this bitter air.  
I stand at the pig pen and all of a sudden I'm rooted to the spot and feel my muscles freeze, but my body burn hotter.

I can feel her gaze on me, on the two loaves in my hands.

Almost as if I was programmed, my arm flings a loaf in her direction. Then, the other follows suit.  
I quickly race back towards the bakery, but before I go back inside, I look at her.  
She looks back at me, and an incredible amount of gratitude glows from her face, and her hollow cheeks fill out slightly as she smiled at me.  
My felt my heart drum against my chest, and I knew my face was positively glowing. My head began to feel dizzy, and as she raced away with the two loaves tucked protectively to her chest, I made my way inside.  
"You're a good boy, Peeta." I hear my father whisper to me as I cross him at the oven.

I slide back onto the window sill in my room, and look out of the window. There was no way of denying the gratitude on Katniss Everdeen's face. It made my heart scream with devotion and desperation to look after her and her family. It was the first time we really communicated, but it was enough.  
I knew there was something about her when she sung to the class the first day I laid eyes on her. I knew it was too much to ask for, but maybe this could start a whole knew relationship with her... somehow.  
I stare at a chimney at the Seam, and think about the two loaves. The loaves I hoped- I knew- where being wolfed down by the Everdeen's.

I crawled in bed and closed my eyes, just to see that spectacular smile that spoke a thousand words. A smile crept a cross my face, causing my cheek to throb painfully, but I didn't care.

Any amount of pain was worth it if Katniss would give me that smile again.

**A/N: I know this isn't one of my best stories, but I really love The Hunger Games trilogy and I've been dying to write a fanfiction on it, but my heads all over the place at the moment so It hasn't been my best work, but I thought it might take my mind off things and I could finally write the fanfiction.  
I hope you enjoyed it, despite it not being as great as it could have been. Let me know if you want me to write more on Hunger Games.**


End file.
